These shells were left over after eating clams. At the time, Qin Tian had thought they might come in handy later, so he hadn’t thrown them away.
Now, Qin Tian couldn’t help but feel his earlier decision was incredibly wise. Otherwise, he would have had to make a long trip to the seaside just to collect shells.
Placing the shells on a stone slab, Qin Tian used the Stone Axe to smash and crush them, while Ye Lin assisted nearby.
Without proper grinding tools, and unlike thick ceramic pieces that are easier to rub, Qin Tian had to exert great effort just to crush the shells into powder.
After that, Qin Tian took a Coconut Shell, filled it halfway with wood ash, and then added creek water, stirring the mixture.
While the vortex hadn’t settled and all the impurities were drawn to the bottom, Qin Tian seized the moment to pour the upper layer of the wood ash water into another Coconut Shell.
Having completed these steps, Qin Tian exhaled deeply; now all that was left was the lard.
***
“How do you make soap exactly?” Ye Lin asked as Qin Tian rested.
When she first heard that Qin Tian was going to make soap on this deserted island, she was completely stunned—she even wondered if Qin Tian’s mind had gone awry. But from his serious expression, she knew he wasn’t crazy nor joking.
As if he had anticipated Ye Lin’s question, Qin Tian countered, “Let me test you—what kind of reaction occurs between alkali and fats?”
“Saponification,” Ye Lin answered confidently, her voice that of a top student.
But as soon as she spoke, she paused and suddenly understood.
The main component of the shell powder was Calcium Carbonate, and the primary ingredient in wood ash was Potassium Carbonate. Between these two, a strong alkaline reaction would occur, producing Potassium Hydroxide. Adding lard to this would trigger a saponification reaction, thereby producing soap!
Realizing this, Ye Lin took a deep breath and looked at Qin Tian with curious eyes.
Knowing so much about outdoor survival was impressive enough, but on such a deserted island, to be able to use available materials to make soap was incredible.
At that moment, Ye Lin even felt that with Qin Tian around, no problem was insurmountable.
“Why are you staring at me? I’m shy,” Qin Tian pretended to hug himself bashfully.
“Cut it out. You’re only wearing shorts in front of me—how could you be shy?” Ye Lin shot back, half wanting to kick him.
***
After simmering the lard for so long, it seemed ready. Without further idle chatter, the two grabbed their things and returned to the stone stove.
Compared to before, the blocks of lard in the ceramic pot had shrunk by half, while the amount of oil in the pot had increased.
Not continuing to simmer, Qin Tian extinguished the fire. The oil and water in the lard had been completely rendered out; if they continued, the amount of oil wouldn’t increase but would actually decrease.
The ceramic pot was still hot shortly after the fire went out, so Qin Tian took wooden chopsticks and carefully fished out all the pieces of lard, placing them into a Coconut Shell.
Qin Tian didn’t know what these were called elsewhere, but where he came from, lard rendered like this was called “oil bubbles.” They were rich in flavor and deliciously crispy, though eating too much could feel greasy.
He bit into one piece with a crisp snap and passed the oil bubbles over to Ye Lin. “Want some?”
“No, thanks. You eat it.” Ye Lin shook her head vigorously—something so fatty would surely make her gain weight.
As expected, Qin Tian placed the oil bubbles aside.
***
Once the ceramic pot cooled, Qin Tian poured the lard oil into the prepared Coconut Shell.
“Looks like we’ll have to make more clay pots tomorrow,” Qin Tian scratched his head while looking at the three Coconut Shells lined up.
The shells were too small to hold a full pot of lard, and without lids, the lard was prone to contamination.
But now was not the time to worry about that.
Picking up the Coconut Shell containing the lard, Qin Tian poured in the shell powder and wood ash water, stirring it all together.
Ye Lin craned her neck, watching the changes inside the Coconut Shell. “Does this really work?”
In theory, Qin Tian’s method was feasible, but how it would turn out practically was still uncertain.
“Wait until tomorrow, once the lard solidifies, we’ll know,” Qin Tian said cautiously, though he felt confident it would be fine.
***
After working late into the night, the two were exhausted. After tidying up, Qin Tian fell asleep.
The night passed without incident.
At dawn, Ye Lin woke from her sleep and immediately went to the Coconut Shells where they had made the soap yesterday.
Seeing the white solidified clumps at the edges of the shells, Ye Lin patted Qin Tian’s back excitedly. “Qin Tian, Qin Tian, look—we’ve got soap!”
Though she had bathed several times over the past days, the dirt on her body was one thing, but the oiliness in her hair was stubborn and hard to clean, no matter how much she scrubbed.
But now, with soap, her troubles were undoubtedly solved.
Thinking of her hair finally being clean, Ye Lin’s excitement grew, and she patted Qin Tian’s back harder, making a loud clapping sound.
“I-I know, I know,” Qin Tian stammered. “Please, big boss, stop, stop.”
Realizing her enthusiasm, Ye Lin quickly stopped. “Sorry, I got too excited.”
Qin Tian waved her off and said, “If you want to use it, it still needs to set for another day.”
That morning, he had already checked; the lard was only half solidified, and the soap block was still very soft—easily crushed if handled roughly. It needed more time to cure.
***
With plenty of pottery still to make, the two started their work after breakfast.
As before, Ye Lin handled the handcrafting, and Qin Tian took care of the firing.
Starting from the basics, Ye Lin shaped seven clay bowls, but after firing, only four were usable. The other three had various degrees of cracking.
Compared to the previous day, this batch had nearly a 50% failure rate, but they didn’t need too many bowls—four were sufficient.
They immediately began firing clay pots.
***
“Qin Tian, how do they make those white glazes?” Ye Lin asked as she shaped another piece, thinking about the bowls she usually used.
Although their current bowls and the usual ones were both fired, the latter’s surface was smooth and glass-like because it was coated with white glaze.
“Feldspar, Quartz, Kaolin, and other raw materials mixed in certain proportions,” Qin Tian answered, adding firewood without looking back.
He had considered making some white glaze while firing pottery, but those materials were extremely hard to find, so he only entertained the idea in his mind.
Ye Lin responded with an “Oh,” and teased, “You seem to know a lot. Are you secretly a genius student?”
“Just like reading a bunch of random books,” Qin Tian chuckled to himself. He never imagined he’d one day be associated with the word ‘genius.’
“At least it’s useful knowledge,” Ye Lin disagreed. “Being a genius isn’t just about good grades.”
Qin Tian was a bit taken aback. He sensed a hint of dissatisfaction in Ye Lin’s tone, though it wasn’t directed at him.
Curious, Qin Tian probed, “What, your parents care a lot about grades?”
“All parents are like that,” Ye Lin replied.
Hearing this, Qin Tian knew his guess was right. Just as he was about to say more, a faint noise came from the Kiln.
***
Certain he hadn’t misheard, Qin Tian removed some firewood and peered into the Kiln.
Just as he suspected, the clay pot had cracked.
“What’s wrong?” Ye Lin stopped her work.
“Nothing, keep going,” Qin Tian frowned.
This pot hadn’t just developed cracks—it had broken open entirely, something that hadn’t happened before. Clearly, if they didn’t figure out the problem, the subsequent pots would suffer the same fate.
Qin Tian immediately began to ponder.
“Pottery cracks generally for two reasons: either the water-to-clay ratio is off, or the kiln temperature is incorrect.”
“I’ve been keeping the Kiln at the highest temperature consistently. If there were temperature issues, the four bowls from before wouldn’t have survived firing.”
“That makes sense. Since we just add water to the yellow clay with no precise standard, it’d be strange if it didn’t crack.”
Realizing the likely cause, Qin Tian regretted not noting down the water-to-clay ratio from yesterday.
After all, today he had mixed by feel, just like before, yet yesterday’s fired pots had no problems—indicating that yesterday’s ratio was more suitable.
With no other choice, Qin Tian began adjusting little by little.
***
Having learned from this mistake, Qin Tian no longer mixed by feel but measured per bowl to keep proportions clear. Only this way could they find the optimal ratio.
The process was time-consuming. It took the whole morning before Qin Tian found a relatively suitable water-to-clay ratio.
But it was worth it. After that, cracks or fractures in their pottery became rare, greatly reducing their workload.
By evening, they had five bowls, three pots, and two pans. Not much, but enough for daily use.
***
The day passed in busy work.
After eating, Qin Tian and Ye Lin sat side by side before the stone stove, almost hypnotized by the water in the pot.
Pottery heats slowly. After a long wait, steam finally rose from the water, and soon bubbles appeared.
As the bubbles increased, both Qin Tian and Ye Lin swallowed quietly.
This pot didn’t contain some rare aged liquor, just plain creek water with nothing added, yet to Qin Tian and Ye Lin, it was nectar beyond compare.
Until now, they had no suitable vessels and had to boil water using stones. Though they tried to keep the stones free of dust during boiling, the boiling stones inevitably made the water murky, causing them to cough often.
Now it was different. They could boil water and sterilize it in ceramic pots without worrying about impurities.
As soon as the water boiled, they eagerly scooped some into bowls, blew on it to cool, then drank heartily.
Drinking it down in one gulp, they exclaimed in unison, “Refreshing!”